Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Inside Llewyn Davis Review

The best, most refreshing thing about “Inside Llewyn
Davis”—the latest film from Joel and Ethan Coen about folk singers in 1960’s
New York—is how contained and narrowed the central narrative is. The Coen’s
aren’t out to tell a grand epic about folk music in the 1960’s, but instead
they offer us a brief (the movie takes place over the course of a single week)
glimpse into the life of one struggling, up and coming folk singer. It almost
feels like the middle of a much bigger film. The picture begins and ends with
the same scene, — the protagonist Llewyn Davis getting beaten up outside the
Gaslight club in New York after performing—the brother filmmakers keep the
story tight and bring it full circle.

The movie follows Davis—a slim, scrappy and rather testy lad
with a thick beard and long curly hair—as he goes from one friend’s couch to
another, lugging a small bag with his clothing, his guitar in one hand and
sometimes an orange tabby (a random, but nice little detail) in the other. He
had a partner at one time but now he’s solo and is trying to make it big. The
problem is he’s not getting anywhere. He can’t catch a break. He doesn’t even
have a winter coat to protect him from the unforgiving cold.

In a much more clichéd and sentimental musician movie Davis
could easily be labeled as the underdog hero, though within this film it’s a
little more difficult. He’s an underdog, yes, but he’s also, to put it frankly,
a major asshole. He’s rude, selfish and doesn’t seem to appreciate the help he
receives from others, such as Jean, (Carey Mulligan) another singer whom Davis
slept with at one time, or his sister Joy (Jeanine Serralles). He certainly
can’t be called a hero and deserves all the bad luck he gets. Even though he
interacts with a multitude of other characters he never establishes a meaningful
relationship with any of them and wanders through the picture in a bubble of
loneliness. He’s only interested in himself. His only redeeming quality is that
he has immense vocal talent and when
we see him perform, all of those unsympathetic qualities just seem to melt
away. Temporarily of course; afterwards, he reverts back to his bitter
ungrateful self.

The Coens drop us right into the middle of Davis’ story as
it’s going on. Most of the major action appears to have either already happened
or will occur after the movie has ended. The story exists entirely on its own
and the audience is treated as a visitor, briefly passing through to witness a
regular week in Davis’ rough life. We see the world entirely from his point of
view, we meet the supporting characters as he encounters them and we know as
much about them as he does.

The story progresses in a natural, relaxed way. For example,
we learn early on about Llewyn’s old singing partner Mike (not seen) but we
don’t find out what happened to him until it’s casually brought up in conversation
later on. In another scene when Davis hitches a ride with a crippled, crotchety
Jazz musician Roland Turner (a fantastic John Goodman) and his young driver
Johnny Five (Garrett Hedlund), we don’t learn where they’re going until Davis
casually asks someone at a rest stop how much longer they have until they reach
Chicago. The Coen’s screenplay is extremely well crafted and it doesn’t feel
the need to explain everything right off the bat nor tie up every loose end.

In addition, from a filmmaking perspective, “Inside Llewyn
Davis” is close to perfect. It contains plenty of funny and clever dialogue;
like Tarantino or Sorkin, The Coens have an immense gift for dialogue. The
eloquent and gray hued cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel emphasizes the cold
loneliness that dominates the film. And the music within the movie (covers of existing
folk songs sung by the actors) provides a warm, comforting blanket to cover an
otherwise frigid and bleak movie.

The acting is great across the board. After playing various
supporting characters in movies as diverse as “Drive” and “Robin Hood,” Isaac
finally gets the opportunity to show he’s leading man material. He gives a
completely authentic, performance, without ever going over the top. Without
him, the movie wouldn’t have been nearly as great. The supporting players like Mulligan,
Goodman and Justin Timberlake (as another folk singer and boyfriend of Joy) all
make great impressions in their small roles.

“Inside Llewyn Davis” won’t be for everyone; the main
character isn’t exactly likable and due to the Coen’s decision to only show us
a slice of this struggling folk singer’s life, some audience members may get
annoyed that it doesn’t have a formal beginning and resolution. At the same
time however, the Coens provide us with a hugely entertaining slice and bring
it to a satisfying closing, even though Davis’ story continues on after the
screen goes to black.